Social Content and SEO Critical to Inbound Marketing Success

I know it can be overwhelming to consistently generate a steady stream of content. So turn to other resources, whether inviting those outside of your organization – such as industry analysts and bloggers – to contribute content, or curating content on a theme that appeals to your target audience. The bonus? By surrounding your own content with that from third parties, you’re seen as a trusted resource and your credibility rises.



The concept of search engine optimization (SEO) will play a big part in your success with inbound marketing. SEO is about optimizing and increasing visibility of your site and content by including keywords that help you rank high in organic search results (i.e., not because of paid advertisements on search engines). The higher your content and site ranks in a search engine’s results list, the more likely someone will find and click on the link to your content. Plus, once your site ranks high, all future content will enjoy the benefit of greater visibility. And the steady flow of additional content will help you maintain that search engine ranking. You’ll be creating a truly virtuous circle.

This is where inbound marketing can really make its mark. If someone finds your content worthy of sharing, they can pass it along via social media outlets. When you or someone else shares your content via Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or the blogosphere, you exponentially – and instantly – expand your reach.

Even though inbound marketing offers an alternative to traditional forms of marketing, it’s not a stand-alone solution to capturing the attention of today’s buyer. Used together, blogs, SEO, and social media can help drive traffic to your content.

It is common for organizations that implement an inbound marketing strategy to see an early lift. However, while early results are strong, the leads can dwindle to a trickle. Even if you’re seeing a consistent, steady stream of leads filling the funnel from inbound sources, you may be struggling to convert those leads into sales. Why? Because there’s a misconception that inbound marketing is enough, that it’s the silver bullet to success.

Next week why inbound is not a stand-alone marketing strategy.